8 years and 11 months

I have been officially changing diapers on a regular basis for 8 years and 11 months... and suddenly I have found myself in a whole new territory of NO DIAPERS!  Our big 3 year old decided last week that he wants to wear underwear (uh-er-ware) and he is so proud of his cartoon undies!  And I'm sooooo amazed that he DECIDED and I'm not fighting for it.  I fought Hunter and Cole for a good year each - both of them completely capable and able, and simply did not care if they had a dirty diaper on their bum.  So, I've laid back and bit my tongue and just encouraged Danny whenever possible - without force.  It's a miracle (I keep singing the song from Fiddler on the Roof in my head)!!!  I even returned a recently purchased box of diapers for the big guy, so it's official - we're not going back.  I'll have a nice little break...  then just 3 years more, or four.  I'll do my best to wait for this little guy to decide on his own too.  And I'm sure this will be a process with Danny too - but so far, this process has been a 180 compared to his big brothers.  I'm so GRATEFUL!!!  Thank you Danny and you are AWESOME!

We are what we eat...

With 3 boys (soon to be 4) and the thought of having 4 teenage boys - I often imagine how my shopping will change over the years.  I wonder if I'd laugh to see the things that the boys "use to eat" these day and wondering if they'd EVER eat a full meal.  So, just to humor me in the future - here's what we are this summer:

Typical STAPLE foods in our refrigerator/pantry:
2 gallons of 1% milk
1 gallon of whole milk (for Danny)
some yogurt
tub of sour cream
1 loaf of white sandwich bread (sometimes wheat for me)
eggs (a carton will last us a month)
tortilla chips
occasionally wheat-thins for me
a new fav - V8 fusion, Strawberry/Banana (yum)
OJ
cheddar cheese
Pepper Jack Cheese (Hunter's fav)
tortillas
bananas
Multi-Grain Cheerios
Other fav cereals: Rice Krispees, Cinnamon Toast Crunch & Lucky Charms
"Cheesey Shells" Alfredo Pasta Roni (Cole's fav)
Mac-N-Cheese (Kraft only)
turkey hotdogs
Tomatoes
Green/Red Peppers
Ramen Noodles
beans: refried and black - always stocked!
and of course, frozen burritos

And I forgot to mention one more thing about Danny on his b-day post - he LOVES mustard since the April Fool's prank by his parents.  He'll even scoop it up by the spoonful if we're not watching.  He often requests mustard with ANYTHING...  tee-hee-hee.